In ancient Tahitian lore, the God Oro touched the heart
of his love with a magnificent black pearl. In modern
Tahitian history, a mortal named Salvador J. Assael
enabled millions of hearts to be touched by this
extraordinary gem when he restored the black
pearl to its rightful place as the “Queen of
Jewels.”

Salvador Assael’s story didn’t start with Tahitian black
pearls. It dates back three generations to the early 1900s
in Europe, where his family was in the precious gem
business. In 1941, they relocated to the United States. Little
did anyone know that in a mere fi ve years, destiny would begin
to play its hand for the younger Assael. Fate brought him to
the world of pearls in 1946 when he bartered thousands of his
father’s excess watches to post-war Japanese companies for cultured
pearls—and so began his love affair with these precious jewels.

Always seeking new markets, this brilliant young marketer
and strategist would, in 1976, bring “The Tahitian Natural
Colour Cultured Pearl” to the attention of the
world. Assael’s plan included introducing
the newly perfected Tahitian black cultured
pearl to Harry Winston who, because of their
remarkable beauty, instantly bought all the strands
he offered. But instead of selling them as necklaces,
Winston created spectacular
diamond and pearl jewelry.
Upscale jewellers everywhere
quickly jumped on the bandwagon, in
part due to Assael’s clever approach
of allowing them to return any that didn’t
sell. “None were returned,” he says, and by
1980, the Tahitian black pearl became the
counterpart to the heavily prized South Sea
white cultured pearls.

Today, Assael International is the world leader
in South Sea and Tahitian natural colour
cultured pearls. Through its leadership and
relentless efforts, these extraordinary gems have reached worldwide demand and prominence. No longer
is the black pearl, with its bewitching magic, the exclusive
domain of royalty. Stunning designs swirl diamonds around
perfectly shaped pearls, or interlace them with exotic gems,
and are worn by women the world over.

Magnificent golds, enticing greys, seductive blacks, and lustrous whites
are set with precious and semi-precious stones to create necklaces,
brooches, and earrings that would make Oro himself jealous. Each pearl
in an Assael necklace is carefully matched, marked, and graded by
highly trained individuals with years of experience. Every strand is of the
highest quality, and all Assael pearls, whether from Australia, Indonesia,
Japan, or Tahiti, are guaranteed to be of natural colour and untreated.

But spectacular jewels are not the only appeal of Assael International.
The company’s handpicked staff is equally as exceptional. They
are individuals and artisans who bring intuition and a lifetime of
experience to each jewel.

“Our experts travel the world to fi nd the best quality cultured
pearls and precious stones for our creations,” Assael proudly
insists. “We demand the highest level of quality to assure a
superior product.” This is evidenced by the fact that when
the company participated in the most prestigious fashion
show in Paris, all twenty-two models wore necklaces,
earrings, and rings made by Assael.

And no wonder, one look at the company’s new collections and it
is clear that even the ancient Tahitian gods could not have created
more seductive jewels.

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